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Edgar Chaput
Steelers vs. Seahawks Point Spread: NFL Week 17 Odds, Prediction
Despite the ups and downs experienced by both the Steelers and Seahawks this season, their respective stories are far from over. Each can make the playoffs, but a win in Week 17 is of the utmost importance. Last Saturday the Steelers did what they’ve so often done in years past: roll past the Bengals, 34-11. The Seahawks played a close one in Tennessee and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, 20-17.
It looks like this will be a tight affair, with the NFL odds giving the nod to the Seahawks, but only as -3.5 favourites.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Adding intrigue to this matchup is its intraconference nature. The Steelers and Seahawks simply don’t meet often, although their most favour clash was Super Bowl XL, won by Pittsburgh. As such, meetings have been far and few between, with only five games played since that championship contest. Pittsburgh has vanquished Seattle in three of them, including the most recent in 2021.
Don’t be fooled by the offensive outburst shown by the Steelers last week. It’s been a rough year when attacking. So much so that their previous offensive coordinator was fired mid-campaign. They’re 28th in points scored (17.1 per game) and 27th in passing yards (184.2). Mason Rudolph gave them a spark to a degree, but he’s started games before and it hasn’t always looked great. As for the spread, Pittsburgh’s 8-7 straight-up tally is mirrored in its efforts ATS.
Seattle’s route to earning its 7-6-2 record against the spread has been wild. They covered borderline insulting spreads as underdogs (+9.5 versus Dallas and +16.5 against San Francisco but in losing causes) and got a push last week against the Titans, which obviously isn’t a cover but could prove to be one of their great wins of the season should they push forward with that momentum.
Pittsburgh Steelers
One supposes that if the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to put some juice in the playoff push tank and finally win a game convincingly, it was going to be against a vulnerable Bengals side. Not only did the Bengals not have Joe Burrow at quarterback, but Pittsburgh specializes in spanking Cincinnati.
Who knows if a 34-point outburst can be replicated? Judging by how the Pittsburgh offence has played all year, it doesn’t seem likely. Nevertheless, the night was punctuated by two excellent catch-and-run plays by WR George Pickens; an 86-yard burst in the first quarter and a 66-yard scamper in the third, both for TDs. That’s 152 of Rudolph’s 290 yards on two plays. The Steelers got the ground game going, with the running back committee tallying 113 yards, led by Najee Harris’ 78 and one score. Pittsburgh’s secondary had Jake Browning’s number, picking him off three times, and the line tallied eight QB hits and three sacks. The terrible towels waived proudly as the Steelers won 34-11.
QB Kenny Pickets (ankle) is questionable.
Seattle Seahawks
Rinse and repeat. That’s the most succinct way to describe the Seahawks’ victory over the Titans last Sunday afternoon. Why? It oddly resembled their Monday night win the week before versus the Eagles.
For one, both games finished 20-17 in their favour. Two, both were highlighted by a very late, game-winning touchdown drive. In this case, it was Geno Smith to Colby Parkinson with 37 seconds remaining. DK Metcalf also caught one earlier in the same period, a beautiful, deft-defying catch in the end zone. Also like the week before, putting points on the board was a struggle until it mattered most, with the score 10-6 for Tennessee heading into the fourth. The likelihood of a performance like this being replicated is dubious, but Seattle has done it twice in a row!
This victory and the one before typified who the Geno Smith-led Seahawks have been for two years. They’re not bad, they’re not great, and they’ll hang around until a team ends their season. It remains to be seen if that side is the Pittsburgh Steelers.